The European Channel Leadership Forum is a unique 2 day conference. It brings together leading CEOs from European VARS and MSPs to discuss pressing issues, technologies and developments facing the industry, and also to network with no agenda.

A survey conducted by CRN in June 2018 reveals why some resellers are embracing propositions with enthusiasm and driving customer migration, while others are resisting the increasingly intense pull of the cloud.

To grow, to remain relevant to the customers, and to remain profitable, IT channels (in all their forms) will have to master a number of business model transformations in the cloud and digital transformation era. Read more to learn about the key transformations that IT channels will need to address, in order to bring new capabilities to customers and be successful in the future.

In the second quarter of this year there were 46 negative announcements, an
eight per cent fall from the previous quarter.

Philip Davidson, head of KPMG restructuring, said there had been a “drive for
innovation and new ideas in the technology sector”, with the telecoms and
communications industries “at the forefront” of the growth.

Bernie Dodwell, alliances manager at networking distributor Westcon, said
that the market had become stronger in some areas and that his firm had seen a
20 to 25 per cent increase in its voice business over the last two years.

“Voice and security are very competitive markets. The clever resellers are
the ones that can bring convergence to the market. Those who can diversify and
offer real value and not just ship tin will succeed,” he said.

Chris Gabriel, marketing director at Prime Business Solutions, claimed the
VAR has taken such steps to stay ahead in the market.

“You have to differentiate yourself and we have moved from being a tin-based
firm to being a services-based firm. When you are offering applications you also
need to have knowledge on other matters, such as security and regulations,” he
added.

Andrew Saunders, divisional managing director at Crane Distribution played
down the notion that new technology sales have improved and claimed that some
end-users show some reservation about unjustified investments.

“We are finding that trading is improving, but it is still not easy. We see
customers investing in new technology, but there has to be a very valid business
reason for any consumer uptake,” he added.